Elaine Loughlin: Budget 2024 is building a future beyond next year's finances

Ministers Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe may be working together on an overall package of €6.4bn, but this year both men will be acutely aware that they must set themselves apart

This week, as ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath held a conveyor belt of bilateral meetings, there were solemn faces seen in Leinster House. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

AT a private meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party this week, Micheál Martin was giving little away on the budget, but one phrase pricked the ears of some in the room.

“Building for the future.”